Page 90 of Sugar Rush

Me: xxxxxxxxxx

He replied with the “blowing a kiss” emoji.

I sighed like a teenage girl when I saw it, allowing myself a moment to relive this morning with him; the sounds he made when I touched him, the way his bare skin felt under my hands.

The wedding cake icing assembly went without a hitch, probably because I moved at a glacial pace with every stage of it.It had to be perfect.I desperately wanted to make a good impression.

Finally stepping back from the cake, I snapped several photos that I would share on my socials if Cathy gave permission, and then I stepped back to admire my work.

Responding to work emails and replying to comments on my feeds, assuming they weren’t trolls or spam, ate up the rest of my evening

By the time the clock struck ten, I’d fallen into bed.There was a new message notification on one of my social feeds, but I didn’t click on the icon.It could wait, and I didnotwant to look exhausted during the wedding tomorrow.Maybe it was vain, but this was going to be the first time Rick saw me all dressed up, and after all, I was only human.

He was going to be in a fuckingtux.

I had to bring my A Game.

* * *

On Saturday, I took a ridiculously long time getting ready.Longer than I’d spent for ages.

Of course, when Seb and I had first started dating.I’d made plenty of effort, and every time we’d gone out for dinner subsequently.I was no slouch; I wore heels and a pretty dress, for myself as much as for Sebastian.

But this was my firstproperdate with Rick.I knew now, more than ever, that what was growing between us wasn’t throwaway.

I’d wanted to see where it went before our first kiss, and now, somehow only days later, I still wanted that, onlymore.So much more.

I felt such a pull towards him.Did it have to be a rebound?Was every new relationship begun on the heels of a broken one doomed?

No, I couldn’t believe that.

Especially not of us.

I felt such a pull to Rick.He was kind, thoughtful, smart, funny.Heart as big as the state he lived in.The exterior package didn’t hurt either.He’d helped me without a thought for himself, several times.

I very, very carefully boxed up the wedding cake.Cathy’s ideas and my execution had resulted in a beautiful, silver-gray three tier cake.The purple hearts I’d hand-stamped with Cathy and her groom’s initials fluttered over the cake like butterflies.The top was bare for the cake topper the bride had commissioned separately.

That done, I checked my creation for even the tiniest imperfections, found none, and got to work doing my make-up.

Once my face was done, no small feat when my hands shook a little from nerves, I stepped into the dress borrowed from Jenny.The silky fabric clung in all the right places and skimmed over others, the color enhancing the darkness of my hair, and also somehow warming my pale-olive skin rather than washing it out.

Rays of sunshine through the bedroom blinds caught on a couple of the gold thread stars, making them twinkle like the rarest of gems.

It was like wearing spun magic.

I texted a picture to Emma, and then Jenny.

Jenny: RIP my brother.

Emma: Man’s gonna swallow his tongue.Hot babe alert.

I asked Jenny how she was feeling.She replied that she was well enough to come to the wedding, and that she was waiting until the last minute to wrangle Toby into his little outfit in case he had an accident “from either end” (her words).

I checked my make-up, slipped my feet into the one pair of dressy-ish shoes I’d packed, and fluffed my hair just as Rick’s knock sounded at the door.

He was sin on two legs, devastating in black and white, the lines of the tuxedo perfectly cut to accentuate his frame.He’d left the neck of the shirt open two buttons and a triangle of tanned skin and a curl of chest hair peeked out, the dark blond curls flirting with his dog-tags chain.

The strong sunshine–Cathy was very lucky with the weather, although I supposed rain was less of a risk outside Europe–touched the copper in his golden hair.It was swept off his face, giving me a chance to sigh over his Hollywood-level bone structure.

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